Flightdeck Friday: Project Excelsior, 2010 Edition

16 August 1960 — Captain Joseph Kittinger, USAF stepped from the gondola of his high altitude helium balloon and began a record-breaking plunge to the ground, over 120, 000 ft below.  With a drogue chute deployed to stabilize his freefall (a lesson-learned form the first jump) he reached a maximum velocity of 614 mph before…